ไม่ค่อย สบาย
“ไม่ค่อย สบาย” (майкхой сабай) — not so well in Thai. Adverb, level A0, topic — basic words. Literally "not quite well". Thai avoids a flat "bad" about oneself and softens it; about illness the same move: mai sabai means "I am ill". In a live sentence: “ผม ไม่ค่อย สบาย” — I'm not doing great. Written with the characters ไ, ม, ่, ค, ่, อ, ย, ส, บ, า, ย. One of 309 words in the set “basic words” in the Thai course.
In short
| Written in Thai | ไม่ค่อย สบาย |
| Read in Latin letters | майкхой сабай |
| Translation | not so well |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "not quite well". Thai avoids a flat "bad" about oneself and softens it; about illness the same move: mai sabai means "I am ill"
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- ผม ไม่ค่อย สบายпхом майкхой сабайI'm not doing great
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- ใช่чайyesThe answer to a "...isn't it?" question. It sounds exactly like the word for tea — the easiest memory hook there is. It does not attach to verbs: to "going?" Thai answers "going"
- ไม่ ใช่май чайnoLiterally "not so". It negates nouns and facts; verbs are negated differently — a plain mai in front of the word. In casual speech people also answer plao
- สบายดีсабайдиfineLiterally "comfortable". The standard full answer about yourself: sabai di khrap khopkhun — fine, thank you
- เยี่ยม มากйиам макgreatA stronger answer to "how are you?" than sabai di: literally "on great form". Mak is the same "very" as in "thank you very much"
- ได้ ไหม?дай май?may I?; is it possible?Literally "can or not?". It attaches to any request at the end: kho nam dai mai — "water, may I?". The answer is dai (may) or mai dai (may not)
- และлэandA bookish link that live speech often drops: "coffee tea" without "and" sounds fine. In a list Thai more often puts a pause than the word
- แต่тэbutThe colloquial "but", standing between phrases. A second "but", tae wa, is longer and even more colloquial; the difference is tempo, not meaning
- กิโลкилоkilo; kilogramThe short form of "kilogram". Half a kilo is khrueng kilo, and "one and a half" is the other way round — kilo khrueng: the half jumps to the end
- ครึ่งкхрынгhalfA half; it stands in front: khrueng kilo — half a kilo, khrueng chua mong — half an hour
- ไม่ เอาмай аоI don't want itThe polite refusal in a shop: mai ao khrap. Thai builds no separate "I don't need it": "I am not taking" is enough
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “not so well” in Thai?
Literally "not quite well". Thai avoids a flat "bad" about oneself and softens it; about illness the same move: mai sabai means "I am ill"
- How do you say “but” in Thai?
The colloquial "but", standing between phrases. A second "but", tae wa, is longer and even more colloquial; the difference is tempo, not meaning
- How do you say “fine” in Thai?
Literally "comfortable". The standard full answer about yourself: sabai di khrap khopkhun — fine, thank you
- How do you say “I don't want it” in Thai?
The polite refusal in a shop: mai ao khrap. Thai builds no separate "I don't need it": "I am not taking" is enough
- How do you say “and” in Thai?
A bookish link that live speech often drops: "coffee tea" without "and" sounds fine. In a list Thai more often puts a pause than the word
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “not so well” in Thai?
«ไม่ค่อย สบาย», read “майкхой сабай”. In a live sentence: “ผม ไม่ค่อย สบาย” — I'm not doing great. Adverb, level A0, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters ไ, ม, ่, ค, ่, อ, ย, ส, บ, า, ย.
How is “ไม่ค่อย สบาย” written in Latin letters?
майкхой сабай. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally "not quite well". Thai avoids a flat "bad" about oneself and softens it; about illness the same move: mai sabai means "I am ill". A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.